CESAR Co-design Process

CESAR research is focused on the two key physics
components of reactor core modeling -- computational
fluid dynamics and neutron transport -- with particular
focus on parameter regimes required for robust, coupled
reactor core modeling. Using these methods as the focus,
the goal of CESAR is two-fold:

To drive the design of future hardware
architecture, system software, and applications based
on the algorithmic requirements of nuclear engineering
applications.

To develop a new generation of underlying algorithms
that successfully exploit exascale computing to solve
significant reactor simulation problems.

Science/Engineering Impact

In the long term, enabling exascale reactor simulations
will fundamentally change the paradigm of how nuclear
reactors are built, tested and operated.

Every step of the nuclear regulatory timeline can be compressed by guiding expensive experiment efforts.

New designs can be rapidly prototyped, accident scenarios can be studied in detail, material properties can be discovered, and design margins can be dramatically narrowed.

Scientists can analyze problems for a wide range of novel reactor systems.

Computer Science

CESAR research focuses on algorithmic innovations in areas that are central to building and achieving scalability on exascale hardware. Some of the main areas of research include

Reduced data movement algorithms

Explorations of scalability on tens of millions of computational cores

UQ: Preparing for the unique requirements of adjoint methods for both transport and CFD

CESAR: Center for Exascale Simulation of Advanced Reactors

The Center for Exascale Simulation of Advanced Reactors (CESAR) is one of three Department of Energy-funded Co-Design Centers. The goal of CESAR is twofold: to both drive architectural decisions and adapt algorithms to the next generation HPC computer architectures on the path to exascale systems. CESAR's particular focus is on the algorithms that underlie the high-fidelity analysis of nuclear reactors: namely, neutron transport (Boltzmann and Monte Carlo) and conjugate heat transfer (Navier Stokes). Thus, the CESAR co-design process involves continually evaluating complex architectural and algorithmic tradeoffs aimed ultimately at the design of both exascale computers and algorithms that can efficiently leverage them.

In the bigger picture, nuclear reactor research is poised for dramatic accelerations by the advances in computing systems over the next decade. The benefits of fully exploiting these systems to advance our understanding will accrue not only to science, but also to society at large—nuclear power is an essential element in our nation’s energy and environmental future.